Cicero Group has appointed former HSBC communications head Mark Hemingway as senior counsel in its corporate PR practice.

Hemingway steps into the new role having most recently worked alongside Cicero while contracted in by the Payments Council.

Before this he headed up communications at HSBC, a job he left last year as part of a wider restructure of the bank’s PR set-up. He has a three-decade career in City banking that includes time at HBOS and Halifax.

He joins the practice as the agency aims to double its fee revenue from its corporate PR and digital business over the next year.

Mike Robb, head of corporate PR and digital at Cicero Group, said: "It is very much about growing the corporate PR side of the business and answering a demand we are seeing from clients for more senior counsel. Mark brings unparalleled experience from the front line of corporate communications in the financial services sector over the past 30 years."

The hire also reflected Cicero's intention to develop its City-focused work, he added.

"We’re seeing an upturn in market activity in the City when it comes to IPOs and mergers, and this should be the beginning of a three- to five-year growth in activity in the sector."